Plastic-eating marine fungus – will it help clean up the oceans?

The problem of plastic pollution poses a serious challenge to the marine environment. Every year, millions of tons of plastic end up in the oceans, causing serious damage to ecosystems. Scientists from Australia and Canada have estimated that every minute, as much plastic enters the oceans as one garbage truck can hold. It is estimated that as much as 11 million tons of plastic pollution may be lying on the bottom of the oceans. The global waste problem is not going to disappear on its own, and the production and consumption of plastics has been increasing in recent decades, raising more and more concerns. However, recent findings suggest that the marine fungus Parengyodontium album may play a significant role in solving this problem.

Global ocean pollution crisis

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, plastic pollution of the oceans has reached the level of a global crisis. The problem not only affects humans, but also poses a serious and deadly threat to wildlife, including turtles, birds and marine mammals.

In recent years, thousands of marine animals have died from ingesting plastic or becoming entangled in it. Sea turtles, such as theCaretta caretta turtle(Caretta caretta), often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, which are their natural food. Ingestion of plastic leads to blockage of the digestive tract and starvation death. The Hawaiian dandelion(Monachus schauinslandi) is one of many species of marine mammals that often become entangled in plastic nets and waste, preventing them from moving and breathing freely. Plastic waste can also cause serious internal injuries, infections and other health problems in marine birds that accidentally ingest plastic. The scale of this problem is enormous, and its effects are evident worldwide.

Sea fungus and its potential

The Parengyodontium album fungus was discovered by a team of scientists from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) in collaboration with universities in Utrecht, Paris, Copenhagen and Switzerland. It was isolated from plastic waste found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – one of the largest plastic waste communities in the world. This white filamentous fungus coexists with other marine microbes on tiny fragments of plastic, decomposing polyethylene (PE) – one of the most commonly used plastics, present among others. In packaging or shopping bags.

The body converts plastic into less harmful substances by using enzymes to degrade polymers into smaller molecules. However, it is only effective after exposure to UV radiation. This means that under natural conditions, the fungus can only decompose plastic that initially floated close to the surface.

Scientists transferred Parengyodontium album to the laboratory, where it was grown on specially prepared plastic. Studies have shown that it can break down UV-exposed plastic at a rate of about 0.044 percent. daily. While this rate is low, when combined with other microbes and techniques, it can help reduce pollution.

Our measurements also showed that the fungus does not specifically use the carbon from PE during decomposition. Most of the PE that Parengyodontium album uses is converted into carbon dioxide, which the fungus excretes – explains Annika Vaksmaa, a marine biologist and biogeochemist at NIOZ and lead author of the study. Although_CO2 is a greenhouse gas, the study’s authors emphasize that the emissions produced by fungi are negligible and can be compared to the amount of carbon dioxide exhaled by humans when breathing.

Application possibilities

The use of Parengyodontium album for ocean cleanup requires in-depth research to understand how to effectively introduce this fungus into polluted environments, and the conditions for its survival and effectiveness in the natural environment. While the results are promising, further international cooperation and investment in plastic biodegradation research is needed. Cultured in the laboratory, Parengyodontium albumen broke down a given piece at a rate of approx. 0.05 percent. per day for every nine days. This is nothing, but it would take a very long time for the bacteria to break through the entire Great Pacific Garbage Patch, not to mention the millions more tons of plastic that end up in the oceans every year. However, the discovery of the Parengyodontium album brings some optimism.

So far, only four plastic-degrading aquatic fungi have been identified, but according to scientists, this latest discovery suggests that more plastic-eating organisms may be living in the wild in the deeper parts of the ocean.

Marine fungi are capable of breaking down complex materials composed of carbon. There are many species of marine fungi, so it is likely that in addition to the four species identified so far that degrade plastics, there are other species with similar abilities – Annika Vaksmaa.

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